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Edward A. Milligan Papers

Collection Overview

Title: Edward A. Milligan Papers

ID: OGLMC/409

Creator: Milligan, Edward A. (1903-1977)

Extent: 5.0 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 05/25/1977

Languages: English [eng]

Abstract

1903-1977; Milligan taught at NDSU-Bottineau and lectured on the tribes of North Dakota. He was active in various organizations including the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Edward A. Milligan Papers, 1925-1977, have been arranged alphabetically by subject in each box. Much of the contents in Box 1 is correspondence, either general in nature or on specific topics. Note that some of the general correspondence will relate to topics found in other folders. The majority of the correspondence is incoming and is arranged chronologically within each folder. Milligan corresponded with people in different circles, stemming from his occupation as an educator, his personal interests, and from his participation in various organizations.

Other components include notes, drafts, and writings of Milligan. There are also materials he collected pertaining to Native Americans. In addition, there are five original ledgers of outgoing correspondence, 1874-1880, of the Indian Agent at Standing Rock Agency.

About 300 photographs are also part of the collection. Many of these pertain to Native Americans, especially depicting the 1936 Sun Dance at Little Eagle, South Dakota. Lastly, two oversize folders contain an assortment of maps, as well as drawings, posters, and military items.

Administrative Information

Accruals: Additional materials were donated in 1978 (78-544), 2000 (2000-2479), and 2015 (2015-3299).

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Physical Access Note: Restricted items are stored in the fireproof cabinet (FP-3).

Acquisition Source: Maurice Robinson, Michigan, North Dakota

Acquisition Method: Donation; 77-419

Related Publications:

Publications by Milligan:

The Standing Rock Sioux 1874-1890 (1948; UND thesis)

Known Migrations of Historic Indian Tribes... (1949 and 1969)

Petroglyphs, Pictographs, and Prehistoric Art in the Upper Midwest and Red River of the North Valleys (1968)

Sun Dance of the Sioux (1969)

The Indian in the Northern Plains (1972)

High Noon on the Greasy Grass: The Story of the Little Bighorn by Indians Who were There (1972)

Wounded Knee 1973 and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 (1973)

A Brief Bibliography of Books on the Indian... (1973)

Dakota Twilight: The Standing Rock Sioux, 1874-1890 (1976)

Preferred Citation: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Processing Information: Collection reprocessed in 2022

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid added to Archon in February 2015.


Box and Folder Listing

Box 1Add to your cart.
Folder 1: Artwork/SketchesAdd to your cart.
Folder 2: Correspondence, 1930-1933Add to your cart.
Folder 3: Correspondence, 1934-1936Add to your cart.
Folder 4: Correspondence, 1937-1939Add to your cart.
Folder 5: Correspondence, 1940-1945Add to your cart.
Folder 6: Correspondence, 1946-1950Add to your cart.
Folder 7: Correspondence, 1951-1954Add to your cart.
Folder 8: Correspondence, 1955-1956Add to your cart.
Folder 9: Correspondence, 1957-1959Add to your cart.
Folder 10: Correspondence, 1960-1961Add to your cart.
Folder 11: Correspondence, 1962Add to your cart.
Folder 12: Correspondence, 1963-1965Add to your cart.
Folder 13: Correspondence, 1966-1968Add to your cart.
Folder 14: Correspondence, 1969-1971Add to your cart.
Folder 15: Correspondence, 1972-1974Add to your cart.
Folder 16: Correspondence, 1975-1976Add to your cart.
Folder 17: Correspondence - American Legion, 1947-1972Add to your cart.
Folder 18: Correspondence - Native Americans at Parade in Bismarck, 1936Add to your cart.
Folder 19: Correspondence - Speaking Engagements, 1934-1942Add to your cart.
Folder 20: Correspondence - undatedAdd to your cart.
Folder 21: Correspondence - with Larry Schlasinger, 1937-1942Add to your cart.
Folder 22: Correspondence - with/regarding Mike Arvizo, 1950-1975Add to your cart.
Folder 23: Dakota Wasicun Iapi - Native Language wordsAdd to your cart.
Folder 24: Drafts of Chapters - Dakota Twilight BookAdd to your cart.
Folder 25: Family Information - Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings, 1921-1960Add to your cart.
Folder 26: Financial Records, 1961-1973Add to your cart.
Folder 27: German Postcards, Picture Cards, and World War II DocumentsAdd to your cart.
Includes images from the 1936 Olympics and of Adolf Hitler
Folder 28: Incorporation Documents - variousAdd to your cart.
Folder 29: Inventories - Native American ItemsAdd to your cart.
Folder 30: Judge Frank Zahn (Flying Cloud)Add to your cart.
Folder 31: Manuscript - Timberwolf Division, World War II (through page 151)Add to your cart.
Folder 32: Manuscript - Timberwolf Division, World War II (page 152 to end)Add to your cart.
Folder 33: Manuscript and Notes - Giant and Dwarf MythologyAdd to your cart.
Folder 34: Milligan Muses - Nos. 1-23, ca. 1945-1946Add to your cart.
Published in "The Leader," Bismarck, ND
Folder 35: Missouri River Basin Development Study, 1951Add to your cart.
Folder 36: National Timberwolf Association, 1947-1976Add to your cart.
Folder 37: Native American Civil Rights, 1961-1971Add to your cart.
Folder 38: Native American Education Needs Assessment, April 1976Add to your cart.
Folder 39: Native Americans - Education/EmploymentAdd to your cart.
Folder 40: Native Americans - GeneralAdd to your cart.
Folder 41: Newspaper Clippings, 1936-1976Add to your cart.
Folder 42: Newspaper Clippings, undatedAdd to your cart.
Folder 43: North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, 1956-1976Add to your cart.
Folder 44: Personal Materials - School Documents and Family PoetryAdd to your cart.
Folder 45: Postcards, 1937-1976 and undatedAdd to your cart.
Folder 46: Publication - Known Migrations of Historic Indian Tribes, February 1949Add to your cart.
Folder 47: Sondre Norheim, 1966-1975Add to your cart.
Folder 48: Sun Dance of the SiouxAdd to your cart.
Folder 49: Teaching Loads/Class Records, 1965-1974Add to your cart.
Box 2Add to your cart.
Folder 1: Axes/Stone ToolsAdd to your cart.
Folder 2: Drafts/Papers - Native American TopicsAdd to your cart.
Folder 3: Genealogical Correspondence/Queries, 1926-1975Add to your cart.
Folder 4: Genealogical Documents, 1956-1960 and undatedAdd to your cart.
Folder 5: Lecture Activities, 1934-1940Add to your cart.
Folder 6: Meeting Minutes, 1968-1969Add to your cart.
Probably for the Vets (Veterans) Club at NDSU-Bottineau
Folder 7: Military Service - World War II, 1942-1947Add to your cart.
Folder 8: Native American Accounts - Little Bighorn, etc.Add to your cart.
Folder 9: Native American Beliefs, Traditions, and PracticesAdd to your cart.
Folder 10: Native American Tribes - GeneralAdd to your cart.
Folder 11: Native Americans - Accounts of Discrimination/ViolenceAdd to your cart.
Folder 12: Native Americans - Notes and ResourcesAdd to your cart.
Folder 13: North Dakota American Legion, 1948-1972Add to your cart.
Convention booklets, meeting minutes, resolutions, and awards
Folder 14: North Dakota - Assorted MaterialsAdd to your cart.

Officers of Richland County, 1934

UND Flickertail Follies program, 1939

Socialist Party lecture postcards (Ralph Korngold and Ernest Untermann), Velva, undated

Churches of Michigan, ND, undated

All American Indian Day programs (2), New Town, June 11, 1955

Miss Fort Berthold Day program, Parshall, June 21, 1958

Viet Nam Veterans Appreciation Day program, Bottineau, May 8, 1971

Sheet Music - North Dakota Song, North Dakota, and Zum, Zum, Zum

Folder 15: North Dakota Reservations - Socio-economic Issues, 1941-1975Add to your cart.
Folder 16: Notebooks/Address Books and Military Service DiaryAdd to your cart.
Folder 17: Papers, Speeches, etc. - Assorted TopicsAdd to your cart.
Folder 18: Papers by Students/OthersAdd to your cart.

Looking Down the Arikara Road by Judge Peter H. Beauchamp

How Fame came to Sergeant York by R. Walter Bishop

A Brief Criticism of North Dakota Indian Myths and Legends by Helena M. Faust

Sacajawea by Esther Burnett Horne

The Lost Culture of the American Indian by James Verdicchio

Folder 19: Photograph NegativesAdd to your cart.
Twenty negatives. Many are of an unveiling of a statue of Sitting Bull.
Folder 20: Political Papers, 1936-1958Add to your cart.
Folder 21: Promotional Materials for LecturesAdd to your cart.
Folder 22: Publications - Copyright, Exposition Press, Book Orders, 1968-1976Add to your cart.
Folder 23: ScrapbooksAdd to your cart.
Folder 24: Sondre Norheim - Correspondence, 1965-1976Add to your cart.
Folder 25: Teaching MaterialsAdd to your cart.
Mainly for classes on Native American history
Folder 26: Teaching Records, Appointments, and Honors, 1941-1975Add to your cart.
Folder 27: Timberwolf (104th) Infantry Division (WWII) - Assorted Materials, 1942-1945Add to your cart.
Folder 28: Timberwolf (104th) Infantry Division (WWII) - HistoriesAdd to your cart.
Folder 29: Treaties and Resolutions - Native American TribesAdd to your cart.
Items 1-5: Standing Rock Agency LedgersAdd to your cart.
Ledger 1: Indian Agent, Outgoing Correspondence, October 1874-December 1875Add to your cart.
Ledger 2: Indian Agent, Outgoing Correspondence, November 1875-October 1876Add to your cart.
Includes something like a census of Indigenous peoples, by tribe, in the back of the ledger (pages 250-280). Also, a record of their horses (pages 282-284).
Ledger 3: Indian Agent, Outgoing Correspondence, September 1876-January 1877Add to your cart.
Ledger 4: Indian Agent, Outgoing Correspondence, May-December 1877Add to your cart.
Ledger 5: Indian Agent, Outgoing Correspondence, 1878-1880Add to your cart.
Oversize Folder 1: North Dakota maps - assortedAdd to your cart.
Oversize Folder 2: Maps and other itemsAdd to your cart.

Images of Sitting Bull and sketches of Indigenous people and U.S. Cavalry soldiers

Poster for Milligan lecture

Timberwolf Division - posters, newspapers, and maps

Milligan genealogical chart

Various U.S. and Canada maps

Michigan Arena newspaper with list of Nelson County World War I draftees, July 27, 1917

Photographs 1-310Add to your cart.
There are multiples of some photographs as well as ones cropped in different ways.
Folder 1: Sun Dance, South Dakota, 1936 (Photographs 1-25)Add to your cart.
Folder 2: Sun Dance, South Dakota, 1936, and other Native American images (Photographs 26-48)Add to your cart.
Folder 3: Milligan with Native Americans at Ceremonies, etc. (Photographs 49-63)Add to your cart.
Identified Indigenous people include Mr. and Mrs. Two Bull, Frank White Buffalo, chiefs One Bull and White Bull (nephews of Sitting Bull), Standing Chief, Charlie Cree Jr., and Mrs. Sam Standing Chief. Non-Indigenous dignitaries include Stanley Simon and Arde Bulova (Bulova Watch Co.), Henry Fowler, and General Omar Bradley.
Folder 4: Unidentified Indigenous Individuals and Groups (Photographs 64-76)Add to your cart.
Folder 5: Milligan and other family members (Photographs 77-89)Add to your cart.
Include some of Milligan in Native dress. Family members are his grandfather (Böhm) and Uncle Joe.
Folder 6: Vets (Veterans) Club, NDSU-Bottineau (Photographs 90-105)Add to your cart.
1969-1970s, many are of a ceremony where Milligan received an award. NDSU-Bottineau was also known as the North Dakota School of Forestry.
Folder 7: NDSU-Bottineau (Photographs 106-121)Add to your cart.
Events at NDSU-Bottineau (aka North Dakota School of Forestry) including their 50th anniversary in January 1957. In addition, there are several images, including Milligan, that are probably of faculty and administrators. There are identified individuals for a couple of the photographs. 409-108 (left to right) has A.D. Ertresvaag, Philip A. Berube (State Senator), Clarence P. Dahl (Lt. Governor), Andrew Benson (State Representative), unidentified boy, Thomas Ryan, Floyd T. Ryan, and James A. Buchanan. 409-121 has Milligan, John E. Davis (Governor), and Rev. Earle M. Quame (Metigoshe Lutheran Church).
Folder 8: American Legion (Photographs 122-136)Add to your cart.

1949 National Convention in Philadelphia - note Milligan in Native dress in parade (409-122)

American Legion Memorial Highway ribbon cutting near Canadian border (409-127 through 409-130)

American Legion Auxiliary of Bottineau (409-132)

North Dakota American Legion conventions (409-134 through 409-136)

Folder 9: Milligan and Dignitaries (Photographs 137-145)Add to your cart.

William Langer (409-137 through 409-139)

Fiji Island Delegation and Florence Joshua for ceremony by Sisseton Sioux (409-140 through 409-143)

Lynn Anderson? (409-144 & 409-145)

Folder 10: Milligan with various groups (Photographs 146-156)Add to your cart.

with boy scouts at Colfax? (409-148 & 409-149)

archaeological expeditions, 1930s (409-150 & 409-151)

Kiwanis Hobby Fair in Chicago, November 9, 1939, Milligan at back left in Native dress (409-152)

lake cabin, June 1962 (409-153 through 409-156)

Folder 11: Bottineau area (Photographs 157-166)Add to your cart.

Postcard - Main Street of Bottineau looking north (409-157)

High School Basketball teams - Souris, Deering, Newburg, Westhope, early 1950s (409-158 through 409-161)

International Peace Gardens, including dedication of Ten Commandments monolith with Charlton Heston, June 10, 1956 (409-162 through 409-165)

Group of people enjoying a meal, Bottineau restaurant? (409-166)

Folder 12: Bottineau and other North Dakota locations (Photographs 167-191)Add to your cart.

St. Anne's Day Procession, Belcourt (409-167 through 409-170)

Bottineau buildings and rural scenery, April 1973 (409-171 through 409-176)

Winter scenes, Bottineau (409-177 & 409-178)

Parade in Bottineau, early 1970s (409-179 through 409-183)

Indian Scout Post #1 Veteran Cemetery, Fort Berthold Reservation, ca. June 1972 (409-184 through 409-188)

Fort Totten, 1971 (409-189 through 409-191)

Folder 13: People - Assorted (Photographs 192-198)Add to your cart.

Mamie Eisenhower (409-192), Roger Maris and Frank Wenstrom (409-193), John F. Kennedy, William L. Guy, and Quentin Burdick (409-194).

Edgar J. Syverud, Dagmar, Montana, 1964 (409-195). Syverud contributed to the study and preservation of the Writing Rocks in Divide County, North Dakota.

Minot area women playing cards and socializing. Some are named: Mrs. Henry (Marjorie) Kermott, Cis Headley, Mrs. Ted Noy, and Mrs. R.B. (Rolean Bill) Riddle (409-196 through 409-198).

Folder 14: St. Mark's Catholic Church, Bottineau (Photographs 199-222)Add to your cart.
Probably a service and procession to honor Monsignor Joseph Andrieux, who died September 1960 in Bottineau.
Folder 15: Military - mostly 104th Infantry Division (Photographs 223-236)Add to your cart.

"The Wolfettes" chorus line, including Milligan (409-223 & 409-224)

Scenes from Germany (409-226 through 409-228)

General Eisenhower (409-229)

Milligan at Timberwolf Reunions, 1948 and 1951 (409-233 & 409-234)

General George I. Forsythe, 1969 (409-235) and Rear Admiral Edwin K. Snyder (409-236)

Folder 16: German Military, ca. 1941 (Photographs 237-258)Add to your cart.
Some are of a Panzer unit in the area of Lublin, Poland (Eastern Front).
Folder 17: Sondre Norheim Memorials and Ben Hur Lampman (Photographs 259-274)Add to your cart.

Milligan speaking at the dedication in Norway of a monument to Sondre Norheim, September 1972 (409-259 through 409-262).

Lampman was born in Wisconsin, but the family lived for a time in Neche, North Dakota. He co-founded the Arena newspaper in Michigan, North Dakota, and later became poet laureate of Oregon (409-267 through 409-274).

Folder 18: Rock Carvings/Petroglyphs (Photographs 275-283)Add to your cart.
Writing Rocks, Divide County (409-275 & 409-276)
Folder 19: Archaeological Relics/Artifacts (Photographs 284-308)Add to your cart.
Item 409-309: International Peace Gardens (oversize photograph)Add to your cart.
Item 409-310: Display of Arrowheads, Spears, Knives, Hide Scrapers, and Beads (oversize photograph)Add to your cart.
From North Dakota and southern Canada, and collected by Alfred Thompson
Photographs 311-316Add to your cart.

409-311: 40th annual convention, North Dakota Firemen's Association, Lidgerwood, North Dakota, June 1924 (image has cracks and photograph is rolled)

409-312: Red River area Jamboree, Boy Scouts of America, Fergus Falls, MN, May 19, 1934 (image has cracks and photograph is rolled)

409-313: Wing Commanders Annual Conference, Civil Air Patrol, Washington DC, May 25, 1950 (tear on one side of image and photograph is rolled)

409-314: Panoramic view of the Vicksburg battlefield, Vicksburg, MS, undated (photograph is rolled)

409-315 & 409-316: Panoramic views of Washington DC, undated (two different perspectives and photographs are rolled)